1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cleaning and releasing device for carrying out a cleaning and/or releasing work by spraying, onto an object to be cleaned, a gas-liquid mixed flow injected from an injection nozzle or a jet flow having a powder and granular material added thereto. More particularly, the invention relates to control of supply and stop of a pressurized gas or a powder and granular material to the injection nozzle.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a cleaning and releasing device for mixing a pressurized liquid and a pressurized gas through an injection nozzle to form a gas-liquid mixed flow and spraying the gas-liquid mixed flow onto an object to be cleaned, thereby carrying out a cleaning and releasing work, generally, mechanical valves for the pressurized gas and the pressurized liquid are provided in the injection nozzle portion and an injection and stop operation from the injection nozzle is carried out through the operations of the valves. Furthermore, there has been widely known a method of additionally providing a device for feeding a powder and granular material and a wireless or wire remote controller for operating a valve to supply the powder and granular material in the injection nozzle portion and for controlling the supply and stop of the powder and granular material through a remote operation when the powder and granular material is to be used. In the conventional art, however, the injection nozzle portion is provided with the mechanical valves for both the pressurized liquid and the pressurized gas or the remote controller for the powder and granular material. Therefore, there has been a technical difficulty in that the injection nozzle portion becomes complicated and large-sized, and furthermore, a weight thereof is also increased. In the case of the wireless remote controller, furthermore, there has also been a problem in that a distance at which transmission can be carried out is approximately 20 meters at most, a length to the injection nozzle is restricted and a malfunction is easily caused. In the case of the wire remote controller, moreover, operability and disconnection have made troubles.
Furthermore, there has also been disclosed technical means for providing a control valve for air for a signal in an injection nozzle portion and a supply control valve related to a pressurized gas and a powder and granular material is operated remotely (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 3-166057). Also in the conventional art, however, it has been necessary to provide a pipe line of air for a signal and a control valve thereof in the injection nozzle portion. Therefore, there has been a technical difficulty that the injection nozzle portion becomes complicated and large-sized, and furthermore, a weight is also increased. Moreover, there has also been disclosed a technique in which a switch for interlocking with a trigger is provided in the injection nozzle portion and a supply timing or a stop timing of a liquid and a powder and granular material for the injection nozzle is controlled by operating the switch and setting a timer, thereby setting the supply timing of the powder and granular material at the start of injection to be later than that of the liquid or setting the stop timing of the liquid at the time of the stop of the injection to be later than that of the powder and granular material (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 10-156723).
In consideration of the problems of the conventional art, the invention has been made and has an object to reduce the number of operating means such as a hand valve to be provided in an injection nozzle portion, to simplify the structure of the injection nozzle portion and to enhance operability in a cleaning and releasing device of such a type as to supply a pressurized liquid and a pressurized gas to an injection nozzle, such a type as to supply a powder and granular material or such a type as to suck a gas through a jet flow of a pressurized liquid supplied to the injection nozzle and to supply the powder and granular material.
In order to solve the problems, the invention employs technical means, that is, a cleaning and releasing device for spraying a jet flow from an injection nozzle onto an object to be cleaned, thereby carrying out a cleaning and/or releasing work, wherein operating means for operating supply and stop of a pressurized liquid to the injection nozzle is provided in the injection nozzle or in the vicinity thereof and detecting means for detecting the supply and stop of the pressurized liquid generated by the operation of the operating means is provided in a proper position on a flow passage of the pressurized liquid, supply and stop of a pressurized gas to the injection nozzle being controlled based on a result of the detection. More specifically, there can be provided a hand valve provided on the flow passage of the pressurized liquid in the injection nozzle or in the vicinity thereof and serving to supply and stop the pressurized liquid to the injection nozzle, a switching valve provided in a proper position on the flow passage of the pressurized gas and serving to supply and stop the pressurized gas to the injection nozzle, flow detecting means provided in a proper position on the flow passage of the pressurized liquid and serving to detect presence of a flow of the liquid, and a controller for controlling a switching operation of the switching valve based on a result of the detection transmitted from the flow detecting means, wherein the switching valve is controlled to supply and stop the pressurized gas depending on the presence of the flow of the pressurized liquid generated by a switching operation of the hand valve. Moreover, there can be so constituted that when powder and granular supply means is provided on the flow passage of the pressurized gas to supply the powder and granular material, the supply and stop of the powder and granular material is controlled based on a result of detection related to the supply and stop of the pressurized liquid to the injection nozzle. Furthermore, there can be so constituted that when the powder and granular material is to be used, the supply of the pressurized gas is started based on detection of the supply of the pressurized liquid to the injection nozzle when injection is to be started and the supply of the powder and granular material is stopped and the supply of the pressurized gas is stopped after a predetermined time passes based on the detection of the stop of the pressurized liquid to the injection nozzle when the injection is to be stopped.
Moreover, there is employed such technical means that in such a type as to suck a gas through a jet flow of a pressurized liquid supplied to an injection nozzle and to spray a jet flow formed by supplying a powder and granular material in a proper process onto an object to be cleaned, thereby carrying out a cleaning and/or releasing work, operating means for operating supply and stop of a pressurized liquid is provided in the injection nozzle or in the vicinity thereof and detecting means for detecting the supply and stop of the pressurized liquid generated by the operation of the operating means is provided in a proper position on a flow passage of the pressurized liquid, supply and stop of the powder and granular material being controlled based on a result of the detection.
Features and advantages of the invention will be evident from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments described in conjunction with the attached drawings.